1977-1979Japan / Tokyo

Noise Rock (Japanoise)

Also known as Japanoise

A deliberately broad tag for Japanese noise and noise-rock activity, with Merzbow and Boredoms standing out as well-documented anchors. The term is useful for discovery, but the scene is wide enough that the boundaries stay fuzzy.

Origins and context

Documented around Japan’s underground noise and noise-rock scenes; Merzbow is identified as a Tokyo-based Japanese noise project, and Boredoms as a Japanese noise rock band from Osaka.

JapanTokyoOsaka

The sound

Characteristics

Distorted electric guitars
Feedback
Electronics
Found sounds
Abrasive percussion

History

Japanoise took shape in Japan’s underground during the late 1970s and 1980s, growing out of experimental and noise scenes rather than mainstream rock. Merzbow, founded in Tokyo in 1979, became one of the most influential names in the field, and the Boredoms, formed in Osaka in 1986, carried a louder, more band-based strain of noise rock into a wider underground audience.